The province of Ontario is dedicated to providing tax credits and exemptions for Ontario businesses, helping them reduce costs, hire and train new workers, and compete across a range of marketplaces both at home and abroad. 

Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation has a strong dedication to innovative research, commercialization, and innovation across the province through a variety of initiatives. As Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation, Reza Moridi, suggests: “Ontario is on the cutting edge of discoveries and creating the jobs of tomorrow because we support a climate that fosters scientific excellence, attracts world renowned researchers and ignites fruitful collaborations between government, academia and industry.”

 One such initiative that aligns with Moridi’s vision is the Ontario Tax Credit for Commercialization. This opportunity is designed to benefit start-up corporations attempting to commercialize intellectual property created at Canadian colleges and universities. Eligible businesses can receive a refund for the corporate income tax and the corporate minimum tax they paid during its first ten taxation years.

Eligible applicants

This tax credit opportunity gives preference to organizations involved in advanced health, telecommunications, computers, digital technologies production, or bioeconomy, which includes clean energy technologies.

Organizations must have been incorporated between March 25, 2008 and March 24, 2012. This excludes any amalgamation or merger.

The most important stipulation is that all eligible applicants must be commercializing intellectual property created at a Canadian college or university.

Outlining the application process

There are three tiers to this application process:

First, you must ensure that your company, the proposed intellectual property, and the college or university with which you collaborate all meet the proper criteria. To accomplish this step, companies must complete a preliminary non-binding determination, which addresses the aforementioned criteria. Applicants can apply for a preliminary non-binding determination at any point in their first taxation year.

Secondly, you have to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. If companies meet all of the application criteria they can proceed to this next stage. This certificate verifies that companies executed their proposed commercialization activities for the year they seek a refund. Companies require this verification for every taxation year you are looking for a refund.

This information gets submitted to the Ministry of Research and Innovation who provide the necessary certification. This application needs information regarding the intellectual property studied, while outlining the relevant patent information. It also needs to list the business and sector within which it operates, as well as the college or university where the business performed the work.

Finally, if your commercialization business meets all of these criteria, eligible applicants for the Ontario Tax Credit for Commercialization can submit this Certificate of Eligibility along with a tax refund application to the Ministry of Finance. Successful applicants will then receive a refund.

There is no deadline for this Ontario tax credit opportunity, but it remains a competitive application process. The Ministry of Research and Innovation has a strong commitment to rewarding well-prepared applicants in a timely manner. Get in touch with Canada’s most successful grant company today: we are experts in tax rebate consultation, and can help you create a successful application that will get your start-up organization noticed.